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<span class="mu-i">”Maurice Campbell,”</span> You put out your grip and he meets it with a single, firm shake. <span class="mu-i">“Now I’m about my business, tell me where could a man find some others willin’ to traipse about them fir trees in the dark?”</span>. Whittier scratches his beard thoughtfully and motions back down towards the camp. <span class="mu-i">”Got men swingin’ axes and saws all day down there, we get some indigents but by and by they’re more decent than any ye might find wasting themselves in drink at the saloon this time a day.”</span>
<span class="mu-i">”Well I’ll go about poachin’ then Foreman,”</span> You say, adjusting your satchel strap and starting back down the road to the camp. You hear Whittier’s voice shout after you, <span class="mu-i">”You go about doin’ as ye like but I ain’t payin’ ya anyone else!”</span> You smile to yourself as you walk on, hypnotized by the inhalation and expulsion of the razor air. Your thoughts turn towards whatever <span class="mu-s">it</span> might be. You know some Indian, but the names were hard to remember. Mostly, there were no names, but you think you have an idea. Claws didn’t hurt that boy, antlers did, his arm was near enough run through by some.
That narrowed it down but little. Still, Whittier had said no bodies. Even <span class="mu-s">they</span> usually left some pitiful remnant of the human form, if only to leer from the shadows at the wailing of any kin unfortunate enough to find it. Yeah, you probably know what it is. What you don’t know is if you can kill it with a rifle. Cornelius was with you last time, probably the only reason you survived.
Your eyes refocus, and suddenly you realize you hear the call and response of men at work. A half dozen enormous sugar pines are on their backs, getting worked over by teams of almost a dozen planers. You make your rounds, talking to any man who looks capable and isn’t busy, and waiting until some that are busy get on break. After an hour or so you figure you’ve reconnoitered the whole of the camp and have come up with three possibles.
